Beloved Oakland Port Worker Killed After Truck Plunges Into Bay

A diver goes under at the Port of Oakland in search of a submerged vehicle. (CBS)

OAKLAND (CBS SF) – A longshoreman at the Port of Oakland was killed Friday after his truck plunged into the bay, according to authorities.

The Coast Guard said the vehicle went into the water at 1:37 p.m. at Berth 30 off the 2800 block of Seventh St.

The man’s name has not yet been released by the Alameda County coroner’s bureau, but a co-worker said he was a 79-year-old man who had worked at the port for more than five decades.

“He’s a very loved man, he’s like a father to all of us,” said Frank Gaskin, a business agent with International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10.

The truck was apparently knocked into the water by some sort of machinery and the man was underwater for more than 30 minutes before port divers could reach the vehicle and retrieve the body, Oakland fire Battalion Chief Coy Justice said.

The truck has also since been retrieved from the water, Justice said.

The Port of Oakland said all work at the port would be suspended for 24 hours following the fatal accident.

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